


Five Breaths

by black_bird



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, But i really like it, Eventual Romance, Gen, I have no plan, I'm really trying, Maybe - Freeform, Mentions of Suicide, More later - Freeform, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Burn Keith/Lance (Voltron), Suicide Attempt, There will be romance, but really, feels like spoilers yknow, i hope i update lol, i wrote it at 3 am and barely edited it, it's kind of an AU, its so difficult to tag ships, klance, might as well tho, oh no, please read my story, probably angst, problematic fav really, sorry - Freeform, trigger warning, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 16:12:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15146882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/black_bird/pseuds/black_bird
Summary: The four of them should have never met. Nor should they have gotten along. They shouldn't have smiled together or felt happy with one another. The night time was meant to hide their shadows, not bring out their monsters. They should never have even met.Though, it seems, they have anyways.





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I have to stress a trigger warning, especially in the later chapters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of one story is the beginning of another.

As a mist rested on his hometown and crickets sang a lonely melody, the young man traversed the empty streets. There were still puddles from the recent rainfall and he wondered if it was daylight, would there be a rainbow?

He wondered a lot at night. No one was there to bother him. No one could find him. He was merely the silhouette of his hoodie against the brick wall, lit up the by dim blue street lamps.

Lance had never intended on amounting up to much of anything. He enjoyed being with his family and singing and many things, but as of late it just didn’t seem to mean anything. He didn’t know where his path was heading or what he would do.

Perhaps, he thought, it wasn’t something for a public high school student to worry about. Perhaps he should just go on living as he always had, pretending like he had not a care in the world. There was the seed of doubt in his mind, but he could ignore it, right?

He told himself this so many times, but it never stopped these night strolls. Even if he still baked with his abuelita and sang his hermanos to sleep, even if he continued in the daytime as if his resolve to peak in high school had not changed, he continued to leave his house when the moon rose.

Even if you couldn’t see rainbows at night time, he thought, you can always find stars even in the dimmest of nights.

Soon, it became a habit. He traced his steps out the window, through the gate, behind the school. He took with him the same tattered backpack and the same old spray bottles his dad used to use for his car. There was a new canvas every night. Sometimes a building, other times a road.

Maybe this was all he could do for now. Maybe no one would ever know he made the artwork, maybe it would be scrubbed clean the next day. He never checked to see. He never wondered about the footsteps he left.

At least, now he knew that he had left a mark somewhere.

Lance never intended on amounting up to much of anything. But he knew if he ever left Earth, he at least wanted proof. He was here, too.


	2. Playground

The playground equipment creaked as it rocked back and forth. From the distance, the shining chain of the swing set was far more visible than the girl who occupied it, dressed in dark clothing.

You would think the loud squeaks were the only thing that could be heard for miles. The night was dead silent, so much so that you could hear the slow drip of water, so much so that you could hear the buzz of her thoughts.

Outdoors was definitely the least likely place to find Katie at any hour of the day. She preferred the comfort of her spinning chair or the light of her laptop against the dark room. However, today it was the moon that illuminated her round glasses.

She didn’t know what came over her. On any other day, she would have stayed in her home where it felt safe, but it simply did not feel like home anymore. Perhaps it felt so empty without the presence of her father and brother that she knew had to leave. Perhaps, she felt better feeling lonely in the open air where the loneliness was not so stuffy and instead it welcomed her and enveloped her like an addicting poison.

Her feet barely skimmed the ground from her seat on the swing. She drew circles in the dirt below her, for once her mind was not occupied with calculations. Instead, she watched the shapes for beneath her. It reminded her of a circus and how they would practice with a net below them. She wondered what the performers saw when they looked down.

Except suddenly, the net was gone and she was free falling. Something thudded loudly in her chest so loudly she swore everyone else would hear. On her cheeks, teardrops brushed her skin like soft kisses.

Katie stood up and walked away from the playground, feeling more alone than when she left.


	3. Butterfly Effect

Dark circles sunk into place like a sinful promise. The slick sound of his boots against the wet pavement echoed through the streets as he wondered, plastic bag in hand.

He didn’t intend on walking more than a block to clear his mind, but his legs had different ideas. This was really not an ideal night.

He almost burned his cinnamon rolls. He overcooked the spaghetti. He forgot to set a timer on the tea. And now, he was lost in a town that he had lived in all his life.

It was funny how something that is so familiar in the light of day can be so unfamiliar and strange in the mist of night; like how something as minor as taking a different turn could change your life, or how he decided to take the scenic route to the grocery mart instead of the fast one and didn’t regret it in the least.

Hunk didn’t know if he felt at peace or nervous, but it couldn’t make a difference at this point. The fact of the matter was, he was undeniably and irreplaceably alive at this exact moment in time.

He didn’t know if he could prove it, or if anyone would believe him. He didn’t know if him existing had made a difference in just about anyone’s lives.

Of course, he was important to his siblings and his parents. And, yes, his friends from school probably wouldn’t have ever found the arcade behind the noodle place if it wasn’t for him. But he couldn’t help but think if it were not for this exact moment in time, his life would be different.

Even if it was only in the minuscule changes, like how he would let butterflies land on his fingers or sometimes bring an extra lunch for a friend, perhaps tonight would make a difference.

Hunk decided he wasn’t at peace, or nervous. He was simply existing.


	4. Committed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! There are mentions of suicide

He burned the night sky into his retinas. Suddenly, the stars were bullets shooting through the black backdrop that encompassed the rest of them and the space in between was no space at all, but all of the emotions in his heart pooling up and leaking out.

The lightning bugs scorched his path, they looked like embers. The fireflies were just sparks in the night, struggling to remain aflame and tonight, he was a firefly.

Keith was new in town, but really, he didn’t feel any different. Just like the last town he was in, and the one prior to that. Travel enough places and you’ll realize the pavement is always black and the sun always hurts to look in the eye.

Tonight, he promised himself, would be the last. After traveling from foster home to foster home, he came to terms with his fate. He was a lost cause, they would say. He had no future. And he didn’t blame.

If he was still struggling to breathe now, what would he do when they took away his oxygen machine? What would happen when he left school and had to live on his own? Without a home to go back to or as little as a friend to rely on, he was bound to self-destruct at some point.

To put matters simply, his neighbors were just unfortunate enough that tonight was the night he finally decided there was no turning back. Of course, it was premeditated. He never planned anything, really. Not conversations or introductions, not how he would style his hair or dress in the morning.

He didn’t like thinking about future. It reminded him how much time he had left and how terrified he was of death. He didn’t know why he felt better at the idea of dying by his own means, but as he wondered the lonely street he didn’t need a reason. All he wanted was relief. All he wanted was to feel something, just one more time.

The lightning bugs led him to a bridge over a lake. He looked over the edge, gulping bravely. This wasn’t a cry for help, he told himself. He wasn’t afraid of this, he told himself. This is all he would ever live to be, he promised himself.

With wavering resolve, he stepped up onto the side of the bridge. For a while, he stood on the other side of the rickety railing, holding onto the cool metal until his knuckles turned white. He thoughts with amusement how horrible it would be if the rusted poles were to break in his grip and he were to fall and so, with fear in his heart, he looked over once the time.

He was not a firefly. He did not have wings and he did not like people much. But tonight, it seemed his aching heart reached out all across town, lighting the way of lost souls to guide them together.

With one long exhale, Keith let go of the railing.


	5. First Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide

It was in that moment that their worlds changed. Who knew what caused it? A turn down the wrong road, leaving this house just a bit earlier than usual, or the undeniable need to get away. Who knew?

But when they saw the boy, his eyes glistening like a mirror that reminded you of all your insecurities, standing over the edge, no one cared why they were here.

Hunk froze in fear, wishing he hadn’t left his house that night.

Katie shouted out in fear and felt her heart drop suddenly.

Lance bolted forward with resolve he had not felt in months and grabbed the boy by his hand.

As he was pulled up from the bridge and brought to the other side, where Lance then proceeded to bring him far away from the high place to a street bench a block away, Keith felt tears on his cheeks. What stranger had thought his life was worth saving? He wondered if it was out of kindness or guilt. His thoughts were so loud he could not fathom the words of the three people in front of him, begging he was alright.

“What were you thinking!” exclaimed the girl. She was crying. He didn’t know why. She didn’t know him. He, at least, didn’t know her.

“What would you have done if we weren’t here?” the boy with the plastic bag questioned. A heavy feeling fell on Keith’s chest at this question. Really, what did he just try to do?

“Listen,” there was one more voice. They were calmer, kind of like honey and melted butter. “Look me in the eye.”

Keith didn’t know if he could muster up the courage to. After all, he had just exposed himself in front of these three strangers. How would he ever allow them to look at him? How, when he knew looking into someone’s eyes always felt like seeing their very soul?

It was not until a hand, calloused but gentle, shifted his chin upwards that Keith met the soft blue eyes of his savior.

“Take five deep breaths,” he said, voice strangely commanding. “Then tell me if you still want to kill yourself.”

Thinking it was stupid, Keith started to protest as his voice came out in horse grunts and pants, throat rough and eyes watering. Lance placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Please.”

Keith breathed in once.

It wouldn’t change his mind, he thought. Although, it did feel better to feel the clear night’s air replace his choked sobs.

Keith breathed twice.

He couldn’t believe the situation. If not for his focus on his breathing, he would have broken down sobbing right there. It would’ve been so much easier, he thought, if they had come just a second later.

Keith breathed a third time.

These people didn’t even know him. Why did they save him? He didn’t know what he would do now. There were so many possibilities. There were so many choices it absolutely overwhelmed him. He wanted to disappear.

He breathed four times.

They were still looking at him. He had forgotten what it felt like to be seen, really. He had forgotten how it felt for someone to look at him and see him, not a foster boy or a lost cause. The boy with the blue eyes was still waiting for an answer, and the girl was still crying and now the other boy was crying, too.

He breathed a final time.

Now, he was crying, too.

“I-I don’t,” he muttered, not believing his own words. “I really don’t want to die. I want to see the sunrise.”

All four of them were crying, now, and sitting on the bench, and relishing in the warmth of another person next to them even though the rain made it feel so cold and so lonely. They sat there for so long, together.

Suddenly, Keith felt something to look forward to.


End file.
